Emily Young (b. 1951, London) is recognised as one of the most important British sculptors of her generation. Her work moves between past and present, nature and culture, the human being and matter. Working directly in stone, she creates sculptures in which an ancient sensibility meets a powerful contemporary presence.

Young’s artistic practice centres on humanity’s complex relationship with the planet and the growing divide between modern technology, society and the natural world. In her hands, stone becomes more than a material – it carries its own geological history and evokes our place within an immense and largely unknowable span of time. Each stone is unique, and its natural qualities become an integral part of the finished work.

Young began her artistic career as a painter and studied at Chelsea School of Art and Central St Martins in London, as well as Stony Brook University in New York. After several years of travelling and engaging with different cultures, she began working with sculpture and stone in the 1980s. She has often used materials salvaged from abandoned quarries, as well as stones sourced directly from the landscapes in which she works.

Combining traditional carving techniques with modern technology when necessary, Young allows the stone to retain its inherent power and history. The result is a body of work characterised by a poetic and timeless presence, in which the archaic is brought into dialogue with a deeply contemporary perspective.

Emily Young’s work is represented in important public and private collections around the world. Her permanent installations can be found at, among other places, St Paul’s Churchyard and Salisbury Cathedral in the United Kingdom, as well as at Loyola University Chicago. Young maintains studios in Italy and Dorset and also has a gallery space in London.